Pc Games Keep Crashing (All)

[Anthony]

Hello Steven, You say that games crash after a certain amount of time and that you only get crashes with games?

This to me sounds like 'HEAT' causing the problem, which in turn is crashing the system.

Have you tried playing games with the cover off?

 

[stormy13]

We ever find out the make and model of the power supply?

 

[yowanvista]

ok done the memtest86 and it didnt boot up on the USB when I restarted the PC so it said I should go into BIOS settings and change so the USB boots 1st, will this affect anything? I mean I aint the best at PC's so will it be fine staying at USB to start 1st or will I change it back and it said it could take a few hours to test so I will wait till 2night.

I have uninstalled Norton360 and installed the MSE so that may help? I will try Gothic 4 now and see if it crashes like the other games and I will get back to you asap

Any errors with memtest86?
Norton has nothing to do with TDR events
Test your graphics card in another PC

Most people having this issue end up replacing the graphics card

 

[Steven511]

ok with Norton360 out of the way it seemed to last abit longer but still crashed in the end so im guessing Norton360 aint the problem and about the power supply as I said I won't ring the family member yet because his wife (I said gf last time, oops)
had a baby few days ago and I will leave it till the weekend before I phone him

 

[sygnus21]

Hi Steven511,

After reading through this thread and seeing you have a Display driver has stopped responding and recovered error, plus the black lines you experience, I have to say I agree with yowanvista and say the video card sounds like its faulty or overheating.... especially since you have the over-clocked edition.

You may have to/should consider having the card replaced.

Also here's some tips/info for the error.

Other Helpful info….

Error - Driver Stopped Responding And Recovered (ATI) or Display Driver nvlddmkm stopped responding (Nvidia) – Do any type of search on these errors and you will get hundreds of hits, even here. This issue started out in Vista and is now seen in Windows 7. As you see, it affects both card manufactures. There are many theories on the causes, as well as solutions, to this problem, but no singular fix seems to work for all. While one fix might work for some, others find they don't work at all. I will however suggest you look at…

-a- Overclocking – If your system is over clocked, chances are that you card is as well. Or, you may be simply overclocking the card by itself. Either way, back off and see what happens.

-b- Overheating – The card could simply be overheating from a faulty or low running fan, to the thermo past on the heat sink wearing out or being inadequate for the job. Inspect the video card and insure everything is in good working order and that there are no loose parts.

-c- Case Cooling – If your case is small and cramped or has inadequate ventilation or fans, well, not only will the case get hot, but so will the components inside, including the CPU and GPU, which puts out enough heat on their own!!! Plus overclocking also causes heat!!! Something to think about.

-d- Power supply - Many of today's GPU's require at least a 450 watt power supply. Is your power supply adequate for the job? Check with the card manufacture. Also, If the card requires a power connection (4-pin connector) double check to make sure it's connected!

Outside of the above mentioned steps, the best way to go about this one unfortunately is through trial and error. However there have been quite a few people, including me, who have reported that replacing the video card solved the problem. Again, something to think about.

From my Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

Good luck.

 

[Steven511]

How do I turn off Overclocking it? the card came like that by the way, pritty lame selling Overclocked Edition to have some thing like this happening and theres 3 fans pluse a huge one on top so it puzzels me about the over heating altho I aint the best with pc's but its only my opinion but reading down what you said that it can be caused by fault I will get the family member to replace it for me I guess and see if that works

 

[yowanvista]

How do I turn off Overclocking it? the card came like that by the way, pritty lame selling Overclocked Edition to have some thing like this happening and theres 3 fans pluse a huge one on top so it puzzels me about the over heating altho I aint the best with pc's but its only my opinion but reading down what you said that it can be caused by fault I will get the family member to replace it for me I guess and see if that works

Before replacing it test it in another PC if possible

 

[Steven511]

Good idea but I my self don't want to try it lol some how I think I would mess up, I will get the family member to test it at the weekend. How to I change it from Overclocked to Not Overclocked btw

thanks for your time to every one that replyed and will reply, I will keep updating as I try new things

 

[yowanvista]

Good idea but I my self don't want to try it lol some how I think I would mess up, I will get the family member to test it at the weekend. How to I change it from Overclocked to Not Overclocked btw

thanks for your time to every one that replyed and will reply, I will keep updating as I try new things

Changing core clocks might cause system instability, but if you want to try it use
ATI Tool ATITool - Overclocking utility for ATI and NVIDIA cards

 

[Steven511]

Changing core clocks might cause system instability, but if you want to try it use
ATI Tool ATITool - Overclocking utility for ATI and NVIDIA cards

I'll leave it then

 

[sygnus21]

How do I turn off Overclocking it? the card came like that by the way, pritty lame selling Overclocked Edition to have some thing like this happening...

A lot of manufacturers sell overclocked items, they just need to make sure they're stable before mass producing them. Bottom line is any item can fail.

As far as "turning off Overclocking"... if the card came overclocked, that is the "default" condition the card is intended to operate at. Thus turning off the overclocked condition (lowering the clock speeds) would "technically" be running counter to what the manufacturer intended, and could "technically" void the warranty.

I’ve had a non-overclocked card overheat and go bad on me, thus my experience with the display driver stopped responding issue.

It happens.

I would suggest you call the manufacturer, tell them your situation, and see about getting a replacement card.

My two cents.

 

[Steven511]

Ok for those that wanted to know the spec of my power supply also edited my 1st post with some other info like -

Power Supply - Antec true power quattro 1200 watt
Ram - 6gb
Hard Drive - 1.81 TB

 

[yowanvista]

Your PSU does not seem to be the cause of this problem but rather your graphics card

 

[sygnus21]

That power supply is way more than enough to power your system, let alone your video card. In short, unless the power supply is faulty, you have more than enough power. And the symptons you describe doesn't sound like a power supply issue.

 

[Steven511]

Your PSU does not seem to be the cause of this problem but rather your graphics card

Don't know alot about pc's but it starting to look like that m8.

That power supply is way more than enough to power your system, let alone your video card. In short, unless the power supply is faulty, you have more than enough power. And the symptons you describe doesn't sound like a power supply issue.

But if the power supply was faulty wouldn't it not work at all or atleast not last a week. but you can never have to much power if it goes in right?

 

[sygnus21]

That power supply is way more than enough to power your system, let alone your video card. In short, unless the power supply is faulty, you have more than enough power. And the symptons you describe doesn't sound like a power supply issue.

But if the power supply was faulty wouldn't it not work at all or atleast not last a week. but you can never have to much power if it goes in right?

To clearify.... your power supply is not the problem

 

[Steven511]

Ah I must add that watching all movies I don't get a single jump or crash, just in games only, so I guess some thing is over heating like yowanvista said about the graphics card it will be the 1st thing I get my family member that built it to look at when he gets time, also i'd like to add I used to use 2my tv + monitor but been useing just my monitor the past 2 days so that couldn't be it also because when I used to start up the pc the graphics would go in a zig zag but that stoped after a while

 

[Steven511]

Success!!!

Contacted my family member and he told me to uninstall the CCC and install the one from the disk (windows update one didnt run well) and also sent me this

" go into the CCC (catalyst control centre) and go into Overdrive . it's in the tab in the top left hand corner. unlock the box so you can change increase the idle mhz. these 5 series cards have an idel speed of 157/300 (which is way to slow to run 3d apps) . it's low because of some software with ati that is meant to save power but it interferes with with a TDR thing which power downs the vga. move the sliders around until the mhz show something around 400/1200! i've run max reso games and no crashes "

NO more jumps NO more crashes and i'd like to thank every one that took time to help also but its fixed now thanks to the family member, such a relief

 

[stormy13]

Good too hear.

Also,

he told me to uninstall the CCC and install the one from the disk (windows update one didnt run well)

hope he told you never, ever, ever install video card updates from Windows Update and if you need to update to only get them straight from AMD/ATI.

 

[sygnus21]

If you're satisfied, that's cool, but....

Edit, actually you're overclocking the card slighty, which will create even more heat. That's an Interesting solution :huh:

BTW....always get your drivers from here... ATI Video Card Drivers

As for that "TDR" thing.... A little reading is in order.....

- Timeout Detection and Recovery of GPUs through WDDM
- http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/1348-driver-stopped-responding-recovered-4.html#post522508
- “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered” - Rage3D Discussion Area

My .02 cents